Lord Greaves: Why does £5.7m reforestation plan exclude Lancashire?

Lancashire’s Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Tony Greaves has asked why a new £5.7m plan to plant more than 50 million trees across the North of England misses out the County of Lancashire.

Having tabled a House of Lords parliamentary question to the Government asking what discussions they have had concerning the boundaries of the proposed new Northern Forest, Lord Greaves wanted to know specifically what consideration has been given to the inclusion of the County of Lancashire within the boundaries.

“If you look at the map, there is a bite-shaped area to the north-west just missed off the area of the proposed forest," Lord Greaves said. "There is no explanation for this and the proposed area just stops on the tops of the Pennines.

"I want to know why and who has decided this – is it the Government, the Woodland Trust, or Lancashire County Council which has refused to join in?” he added.

The area includes a broad strip from Hull and the North Sea coast to Liverpool and the Irish Sea as well as the Peak National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park and parts of North Yorkshire. Large conurbations of Leeds and Bradford, Greater Manchester and Merseyside are all included.

With the Government putting up £5.7 million towards the cost of the project, the Northern Forest will not be continuous tree cover but will make a huge improvement to the environmental, recreational and amenity of the North and help combat climate change.

Tony Greaves added: “I am not sure if Lancashire is the Cinderella of the Babe-with-no-Wood but it is very odd.”